Sebastian (The Beck Brothers #2) (4 page)

  Sebastian headed into the back,
where the shop was. He walked over to his station and started working on the gun
that he had been fixing. So engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't hear
the shop door open. He jumped and yelped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Shit Sebastian, I didn't mean to
scare you," Bill said, stepping up next to him.

Sebastian looked up at Bill as he tried
to calm his panicking heart. "It's fine."

"How you doing, son? Are you sure
you're okay to be here today?" he asked, a frown pulling his white bushy
eyebrows together.

  Bill had just turned seventy. The
guy looked great for his age. He had pure white hair, big white bushy eyebrows,
and a white mustache. He was just a tad overweight, mostly in the belly area.
He always wore tan tactical pants and a black polo shirt. His shirt always
tucked into his pants, and his gun holstered at the small of his back. That was
also where Sebastian wore his gun when he was at the shop.

"Yeah, I need this to take my mind
off everything," Sebastian murmured.

Bill nodded. "Alright." He
sighed. "How are the kids doing?"

"They're fine. I think my brother
and sister-in-law were more shaken up than the kids," Sebastian said.

He nodded in understanding.
"Oh...yeah, well...little kids can't fully grasp the seriousness of the
situation."

"Thank god for that." Sebastian
snorted.

Bill agreed. "Okay...I'll let you get
back to work," he said as he headed back out into the showroom.

  Sebastian lost himself in his work
for the rest of the day. Bill came back in at around 8:00 pm, handed him a new
Glock, and then kicked him out. Sebastian washed his hands and headed home. He
walked into his dark apartment, McDonalds in hand. Sebastian kicked the door
shut behind him before flipping on the kitchen light. Shit, he was tired; it
just seemed to hit him out of nowhere. He had slept like shit the night before.
His mind kept racing with ‘what if’s,’ and he kept picturing other scenarios of
how everything could have gone differently. He would doze off here and there
but never got into a deep sleep.

  Sebastian went and turned on the
lamp in his tiny living room. His apartment was small, but he didn't need much
space when it was just him. The kitchen and living room were one big room, with
only a counter separating them. He had two bedrooms. The bigger one was
obviously his, and the smaller one he set up as a computer/work-out room.

  Sebastian sat at the counter and
ate his dinner, the only thing he had eaten all day. He was too preoccupied
with work to stop and eat. Not that he had really been hungry anyway. After
finishing two Big Macs, a large fry, and a large soda, Sebastian headed down
the hall to his bathroom.

  He turned on the shower then
stripped. He set his new Glock on the back of the toilet before stepping into
the shower. He groaned when the hot spray hit his back. Sebastian grabbed his
shampoo and washed his hair. As he was rinsing his hair, he heard something
bang in the living room. It actually sounded like his apartment door closing.
Sebastian's eyes shot open as his heart lurched.
What the fuck was that?

  Sebastian shut the water off and
stepped out of the shower as quietly as possible. He grabbed his gun and went
to the door, screw drying off. He opened it a crack and heard movement in the
living room. Someone was in his apartment? Seriously? Could it be the other guy
that he shot, looking for revenge? Could he really have found Sebastian that
fast?

  He gripped his Glock tightly as he
eased the door open, creeping quietly down the hallway. He heard the fridge
door open and close. Sebastian quickly turned the corner, lifted his gun, and
aimed at the person in his kitchen. His brother, Quinn's, eyes widened and the
beer bottle dropped from his hand. Luckily, the bottle didn't break, but Quinn
had opened it, so beer spewed all over the kitchen floor.

Sebastian saw red. He slapped the gun
down on the counter and crossed the room. He gripped Quinn by the front of his
shirt and slammed him back against the fridge, making bottles in the fridge
rattle.

"Are you fucking insane? I almost
shot you!" Sebastian shouted, slamming Quinn into the fridge again. His
heart was pounding so badly that he swore it was going to burst out of his
chest.

Quinn grabbed his forearms, his face
stricken. "I'm sorry, Sebastian. I knocked and called your name. When I
heard the shower running, I figured I'd just wait for you to be done,” he rushed
to explain.

"You should have told me you were
coming by!" Sebastian yelled, shoving Quinn into the fridge one more time,
before pushing away from him.
Jesus Christ!
He had almost killed his brother.

~~~~~

  Quinn watched as Sebastian paced
away from him, fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose, his other hand on his
naked hip. Sebastian was completely naked and dripping wet. He obviously just
got out of the shower and didn't bother with a towel. He also didn't seem to
care that he was pacing through a puddle of beer either.

"I'm sorry," Quinn rasped. He
felt horrible for scaring his brother so bad.

Sebastian turned his angry green eyes to
him. There was also something else in his eyes - fear, bone deep fear. "I
was seriously a breath away from shooting you in the head, Quinn," he
said, his voice trembling.

That's when Quinn noticed that
Sebastian's whole body was shaking. He doubted it was from being cold. His
heart broke for his brother. "Sebastian, why don't you go dry off and get
dressed," Quinn suggested quietly.

  Sebastian left without a word,
disappearing down the hallway that he came from. Quinn took a deep breath
before grabbing the roll of paper towels and cleaning up the kitchen floor. He
seriously almost shit himself when he turned and saw a gun pointed at his face.
Never in his life has he ever felt that kind of fear. For a second, he thought
that Sebastian actually might pull the trigger.

  Quinn had come by to check on his
brother. He heard about what happened last night, and wanted to make sure
Sebastian was doing okay. He hadn't even thought that he might be jumpy.
Idiot!
What the hell was he thinking just
showing up like that? Of course Sebastian was going to be jumpy. There was
still one guy on the loose; he probably thought that Quinn was that guy,
breaking into his apartment.
Fuck!

  Quinn shook his head and cursed to
himself as he soaked the beer and water up off the floor. He tossed the bottle
in the recycling bin, put the drenched paper towels in the trash, and washed
his hands. Then he headed down the hall to find Sebastian. Quinn found him in
his bedroom, sitting on the end of his bed with a towel wrapped around his
waist, his head in his hands.

"Hey man...you okay?" He asked,
shoving his hands in his pockets, as he stepped into the room.

Sebastian lifted his head from his hands.
He looked run down and emotionally drained. "I just...I can't believe how
close I came to pulling the trigger," he said, his voice low.

Quinn sighed. "Shit Sebastian, it
really wasn't your fault. I should have called first."

Sebastian shook his head. "Whatever.
Doesn't matter," he said, waving that aside. "I could have killed
you, Quinn," he said. His voice was dead and hollow.

"But you didn't. So just forget
about it." Quinn shrugged.

Sebastian stared at him for a moment
before turning away. He got up and went to his dresser where he pulled out a
pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. "What are you doing here anyway?"
he asked, as he pulled his clothes on.

"I just wanted to check on you. See
how you were doing after last night," he replied.

Sebastian gave a bitter laugh. "As
you can see, I've become paranoid."

"With good reason," Quinn said,
giving him a pointed look.

Sebastian shrugged. "I guess,"
he muttered. He moved past Quinn to go back into the kitchen.

  Quinn followed Sebastian into the
kitchen. Sebastian went into the fridge and grabbed two beers. He cracked one
open and handed it to Quinn. He thanked him then took a long swig, needing it
to calm his nerves. If it had been Christian here, the poor guy would have
probably thrown up on the kitchen floor, adding to the beer and water.
Sebastian leaned his ass against the counter next to the fridge and took a sip
of his beer.

"I went to a therapist this
morning," Sebastian admitted quietly, picking at the label of his beer.

Quinn's eyebrows shot up. Quinn was
rarely shocked enough to show emotion on his face. "Really?" he
asked, stunned that Sebastian even told him that; usually, he would have had to
hear it from Henry.

Sebastian nodded. He was staring down at
his bottle, continuing to pick at the label.

"How'd it go?" Quinn asked.

"Pretty good. The guy is cool. He
wants me to come back on Monday," Sebastian said, lifting his gaze to look
at Quinn. "Do you think I'm a pussy for going?" he asked hesitantly.

Quinn blinked at him.
Was he serious?
"What? Hell no. You
need
to go," he insisted.

One side of Sebastian's mouth tipped up
and he nodded slightly. "Okay...thanks," he murmured, sending Quinn a
grateful glance.

"Wanna watch a movie or something
since I'm here?" Quinn asked. He was hoping to get Sebastian's mind off
everything for a little while.

Sebastian shrugged. "Yeah,
sure."

  So Quinn and Sebastian headed into
the living room. Sebastian pulled up his On-Demand, and they picked out a movie
to watch. Quinn sat at one end of the couch, while Sebastian lounged at the other
end. Quinn smiled to himself; he liked hanging out with Sebastian. He didn't do
it often enough. He was glad that his brother felt comfortable enough with him
to open up a little. He certainly didn’t expect it. He loves all of his
brothers to death. He has always been a little jealous of the close
relationship Henry and Sebastian share. He always wanted to be a part of their
little click. Maybe this was a start.

Chapter
3

  Raelynn walked down the corridor
of the third floor in the apartment building. She glanced at the numbers on the
doors, stopping at number 34A. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she
lifted her fist and knocked on the plain brown door. She had no idea why she
was nervous, but the thought of seeing whom she came to see, put butterflies in
her stomach. She glanced at her watch, 9:00 am. It wasn't super early, so she
hoped that she wouldn't be waking him up.

  The lock clicked and the door
swung open. Raelynn's breath caught at the stunning sight in front of her.
Sebastian Beck stood in the doorway in nothing but a pair of sweatpants slung
low on his lean hips. So low that there was no way he was wearing underwear.
His upper body was bare, showing off his impressive physique and tattoos. His
green eyes looked tired, and his blonde hair was mussed. His face was covered
in a couple of days’ worth of stubble. He looked rugged, handsome, and panty-dropping
hot.

"I hope I didn't wake you,"
Raelynn managed when she finally found her voice.

Sebastian covered up a yawn with the back
of his hand as he shook his head. "Nah, I just got up before you
knocked," he said, his voice lower than normal from sleep, sending shivers
down her spine.

 
Dammit!
Why did he have to be so freaking
attractive? Sebastian moved aside and waved her in. She entered his
surprisingly neat apartment and let him shut the door. He shuffled into the
kitchen and started setting up the coffee maker. Raelynn couldn't help but
check out his very fine rear end. Raelynn had always loved sweatpants on a man.